Saturday’s UFC Fight Night 76 has seen another change as Joe Duffy has been forced to pull out of the event due to a medical issue and the card will now be headlined by the already scheduled flyweight bout between Paddy Holohan and Louis Smolka.
UFC officials announced the change on Wednesday and stated that Dustin Poirier will be rescheduled for another event.
“Due to a medical issue involving UFC lightweight Joe Duffy, the new main event of UFC Fight Night in Ireland on Saturday will be a three-round bout featuring hometown hero Paddy Holohan vs. Louis Smolka,” the UFC statement said.
“Having learned that Duffy received a strike to the head during training earlier this week, UFC sent him for medical tests in Ireland for precautionary purposes. The results determined that Duffy suffered a mild concussion and due to the proximity of the fight this Saturday UFC will not permit him to compete. The health and safety of UFC athletes will continue to be the top priority for the organization. As such, UFC has respected standard athletic commission regulations, which recommend a medical suspension from competition as a result of the concussion.
“Duffy’s original opponent, Dustin Poirier, will be rescheduled for another event. Fans seeking ticket refunds as a result of the main event changes can do so through Ticketmaster at the point of purchase.”
Following the news being released by the UFC, both Duffy and Poirier released statements via social media with Duffy explaining the incident that caused him to pull out of the event and Poirier explaining why he did not take a short notice opponent for the event.
Sorry to the fans that were looking forward to this fight. It’s out of my hands. Hopefully we can get it rescheduled…. — The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 21, 2015
I’ll wait to reschedule. This is the guy I’ve prepared to fight for the last 10 weeks https://t.co/R7l54l6ANG
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 21, 2015
I’m trying to be professional. I sat back and talked with my coaches and this is the decision we made. https://t.co/CTxWCLsHsn
— The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 21, 2015
. @norman_parke this was my team’s and management’s decision to let the small fish go and fight Duffy when he’s healthy. — The Diamond (@DustinPoirier) October 21, 2015
With today’s change, the current UFC Fight Night 76 fight card is below.
Main Card: (Fight Pass – 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT)
Paddy Holohan (12-1-1) vs. Louis Smolka (9-1)
Norman Parke (20-4-1) vs. Reza Madadi (13-3)
Nicolas Dalby (14-0) vs. Darren Till (13-0)
Neil Seery (15-11) vs. Jon Delos Reyes (8-4)
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass – 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT)
Stevie Ray (18-5) vs. Mickael Lebout (14-4-1, 1NC)
Scott Askham (13-1) vs. Krzysztof Jotko (15-1)
Aisling Daly (15-6) vs. Ericka Almeida (7-1)
Cathal Pendred (17-3-1) vs. Tom Breese (8-0)
Darren Elkins (18-5) vs. Robert Whiteford (12-2)
Bubba Bush (8-2, 1NC) vs. Garreth McLellan (12-3)